By “BUZZ” KING, guest columnist

Frank Hohenberger (1876-1963) was a world-renowned photographer who settled in Nashville, Brown County, Indiana in 1917. He chronicled life in ‘them thar hills” of Brown County in books, pamphlets, news articles, etc., as well as his photographs, until his death in 1963. Google his name and you will learn much more than I can relay here.

My father, Fred King, was born on Greasy Creek in June of 1916, and Rex King (his brother) two years later. When the Kings moved to town in 1934 or so, the boys became fast friends with Frank. They carried well water for his studio, did odd jobs, as well as drove Frank to various locations in Brown County and elsewhere. Frank could and did drive, but he preferred to be driven by others.

Frank would set up his large-format Graflex camera on a wooden tripod and frame his shot while under the black cloth, which blocked the sunlight from distorting his view. Then, he would sit down and discuss whatever came to mind with my dad or Rex, or both, glancing accusingly at the framed picture in the viewfinder and returning to his seat. When the sun and shadows were just right, he pulled out the dark slide and tripped the shutter, replaced the dark slide and headed home.

After high school, Rex worked for the Brown County Democrat newspaper and Dad married, and both kept their friendship with Frank.

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On Jan. 4, 1948, I was born, and guess whose birthday that was? Frank and I shared the same day of birth. Each year after that, we celebrated our birthday together, except 1963, when he was ill.

Frank liked Chiclets gum, and Pods Miller ordered blocks of packages for Frank. My birthday present from Frank was always a block of 20 packs of gum.

Christmas Day was another time to treat Frank to my mother’s cooking, with rolls. And most years, I got a Christmas coffee table book, always wrapped in brown kraft paper and a string to disguise what it was, and I never guessed what it was and always was pleased.

Frank was a printer, too. He wrapped his wedding invitations and birth notices, etc., in brown kraft paper and tied them with string.

He walked daily to the drugstore, as did many others, to get a 5-cent Coke and a newspaper.

Frank and Andy Rogers’ father were fast friends, and the walls of the old country store at the Nashville House were covered with Frank’s pictures, along with others (after the fire). As Andy became an adult, he also loved and respected Frank and his historic pictures and provided Frank a place to live and work (the Bartley House).

Frank is best known for his historic black-and-white pictures which he developed and printed in his studio. But did you know that when Kodachrome reversal film for color movies was invented by Eastman Kodak in 1935, Frank studied all he could find on the subject? The next year, the film was made available in slide film format, 35mm and 2×2. Frank shot thousands of color slides, mostly in Mexico and the old West, etc.

Frank also was a collector of snippets. If you know what a snippet is, good for you. If you have no idea, wait for my story on newspapers and the Jacksonian.

‘Til next time. — Buzz

“Buzz” King is a nearly lifelong resident of Brown County and past president of the Nashville Town Council. His father, Fred King, was the unofficial county historian.